of bad intention in his behavior in the past months, but could think of nothing. On the contrary, Roric had been nothing but good to him. Tauran could only assume Roric was on their side. And if that was the case, then every rider in the tower was against Falka, at least until the recruits graduated. Falka had more reasons than his wish for war with Irades to hurry the recruits along.
“How did you make it out here?” Kalai asked, looking past Tauran at Andreus.
“I remember very little in the time after the battle. Aihiri, the archivist, found me, and brought me somewhere safe. I was unconscious for weeks. In that time, he contacted Hali, who came all the way from Sharoani to tend to my injuries. In the time it took for me to recover, we grew close.” He reached for her, and she took his hand and stroked his hair affectionately. “When I was strong enough to travel, I set course for the only place I knew the Sky Guard would never look for me. And Hali came with me. We’ve been here ever since, living off the land, just the two of us.”
Tauran wiped a hand over his mouth. No wonder Falka was so paranoid about rebels. He knew Andreus’ corpse had never been found.
“But then, how did Catria and Emilian know to find you here?” Kalai asked.
Andreus shook his head. “I can’t say. I haven’t met anybody but southern fishermen since arriving here four years ago. I haven’t even seen a dragon since…” He trailed off, and his brows drew together. Hali pressed her lips to the top of his head, so gentle and tender.
In the wake of fury, of sadness and despair and realization and truth, and with the pain in his leg doing its best to fog his mind, exhaustion felt like a sickness in Tauran’s body. He slumped in the chair, tugging loose the band from his hair and running his fingers through the tumbling curls. He vaguely heard Kalai ask for a place to rest, and Andreus offering them their bed. Kalai held him close as they moved to the hut’s only other room, Tauran sinking onto the bed with a moan of relief he didn’t have the energy to be embarrassed by. Kalai left and returned with a warm drink that smelled and tasted sweet, and it lessened a bit of the pain in Tauran’s leg, at least enough for him to relax. He was hardly aware of his surroundings when he closed his eyes and let sleep take him.
* * *
When Tauran woke, he was alone.
It was dark, a single candle on the bedside table filling the room with a warm glow. For a moment, he’d forgotten about Andreus, about Falka and the Sky Guard and all the lies. He tried to cling to the sleep-induced bliss, but there was no holding it at bay. Sighing, he shifted.
His bare legs brushed the blanket, and he pulled it aside and looked down. His trousers had been removed, and the mud cleaned off his skin, a supportive bandage wrapped around his left leg from thigh to mid-calf in an intricate pattern. Tauran ran his hand over the bandages. They were tight, but not too tight. Hali? Either way, they seemed to work. The pain was no longer a constant, overwhelming, bone-deep ache.
Sitting, he found a pair of his own clean trousers neatly folded at the foot of the bed and dragged them on. Sleeping in a real bed for the first time in weeks, even one as makeshift as this one, had done wonders for the fatigue in his bones and muscles. He looked over his shoulder at the other side of the bed, wondering if Kalai had slept, too.
Quiet voices filtered from the other room, Kalai’s soft cadence among them. Tauran pushed the door open. Andreus and Kalai sat at the table. Hali stood at the counter. She looked up, offering Tauran the barest hint of a smile. Tauran smiled back, feeling more than a little sheepish. She was very forgiving, considering he’d pulled a gun on her lover not long ago.
“Tauran. How are you feeling?” Kalai’s smile was warm when he stood, offering Tauran his chair.
As little as he wanted to take Kalai’s seat when there was nowhere else to relax, his leg had other ideas, and Tauran was grateful to take his weight off it. He murmured a quiet thanks.
“I’m afraid we already ate, but Hali saved you a